Heaven was blue (2LP)

First ever legit vinyl reissue of Rick Saucedo’s mind-expanding, one-man, multi-tracked private press miracle in sound from 1978

“Heaven Was Blue” drifts in the same sonic milieu as fellow travelers in ’60s square peg joy Darius, Marcus, D.R. Hooker (without the lounge allusions), or late period psych adventurers Michael Angelo and Bobb Trimble-and his concentration and vision equals or exceeds these international underground heroes.

Rick Saucedo is an internationally-known Elvis tribute artist, actor and singer-songwriter from Chicago. In 1978, after some years of doing his Elvis show, he decided he wanted to have his own identity, recording an album with his own songs. The idea of “Heaven Was Blue” was born while he was doing the role of Elvis in the Broadway musical “The Legend Lives On”. Influenced by The Beatles and Pink Floyd, Rick created “Heaven Was Blue” for himself, as he didn’t care about the music of the time. All instruments on the album were played by Rick with a couple of friends helping him out. Songs like “Reality”, which was written in a graveyard just after the passing of Mr. Presley or “In My Mind”, which dated back to 1967, written just after “Sgt. Pepper” had come out, are prime examples of dreamy acid psych with Lennon-esque vocals, lysergic guitars & studio effects. There’s also a couple of fuzz rockers with a strong ’50s vibe and then there’s the album centerpiece: the impressive 18-minute “Heaven Was Blue” suite, which Rick envisioned as an “acid trip dream”. In words of Patrick Lundborg: “…Saucedo pulls it off. Somehow like how you turn the wheels on a kaleidoscope, new melodies, guitar figures and arrangements emerge out of the old ones every three minutes, each sequence more swirling and enchanting that the last, with a sense of progression throughout.”

This expanded reissue offers a full extra album of bonus tracks:

“Oh My God” was the conclusion to “Reality” / “In My Mind”, recorded in 1978 but omitted from the original album at the last moment. Previously unreleased on vinyl until now.

“Baby in the Sand / It Burns Again Today” were written during the ‘Heaven Was Blue’ sessions but went unrecorded until 1991 and they’re terrific sitar-drenched melodic psych in the same vein as the original album. Previously unreleased on vinyl until now.

And there’s also both sides of the post- album single “Reality” b/w “History Makin’ – Country Shakin’,” which featured different mixes and an alternate mix of “Reality”. These tracks were originally released as promo 45s in very limited quantities.

Master tape sound

Original artwork

Insert including an interview with Rick Saucedo and detailed liner notes by Jeremy Cargill (Got Kinda Lost / Ugly Things).

“Rick Saucedo is mainly known as an Illinois-based Elvis impersonator, and a successful one at that, but some time when the King’s ghost wasn’t looking he sneaked out and cut himself two sides of music that were as far to the other end of the spectrum as you can imagine; dreamy, melodic ’60s-style psychedelia…”Heaven Was Blue” is a montage of everything you hallucinated on the walls when discovering the greatness of psychedelia long ago: “Sunshine Superman,” “Porpoise Song,” “Renaissance Fair,” “Matilda Mother,” they’re all in there-along with thunder and rain sound FX, meandering acid guitars, and howling dogs.”
Patrick Lundborg (Lysergia.com)